They will be angry and want someone to blame. And in their minds, you’re the reason they’re here, so that someone will be you.
The show also took what we often see in a crime drama—jury sequestration—and made it a tangible piece of conflict rather than just another thing that might happen in a typical procedural. Bull made a good point about the jury’s enforced isolation might work negatively on Nate; the jury would blame him.
Bull like putting twists into their episodes somewhere after the third act, often in a nice courtroom reveal with Benny (not that I’m complaining), but this time, we got two twists.
Benny was trying to sell the theory Ava was alive for the jury. To be honest, I expected Ava to walk in towards the end. Luckily, Bull didn’t opt for this twist.
They’re all red, and they’re all miserable.
Pictured L-R: Mackenzie Meehan as Taylor Rentzel, Chris Jackson as Chunk Palmer, Jaime Lee Kirchner as Danny James, and Geneva Carr as Marissa Morgan Photo: CBS
Halfway through the trial, Ava’s body was found. The problem was Bull and Benny had collected a jury full of people who made decisions based on visible proof, not on circumstantial evidence.
Ava’s body was a burden of proof that swayed their once advantageous jury against Nate. Whatever doubt Benny tried to plant about Nate’s guilt was gone.
Someone’s always forgetting a shovel.
The second twist came after the TAC worked on a new theory with Ava and her bodyguard Chris. The stabbing was still a crime of passion, but not by a lover as we were led to presume. And not who everyone thought.
I’ll admit, I thought I pegged who the real culprit was from the beginning. It’s been a long time since a show surprised me. Bull succeeded stringing us along with a red herring.
While the real culprit’s motive was less sensational to the original theory, it was a good twist. And one that didn’t feel thrown in for a quick resolution.
The episode ended differently as well. We don’t get to see what the jury decided, although it’s a given Nate would be acquitted after yet another brilliant reveal by Benny. Bull’s right; it never gets old to see Benny do his magic.
I wasn’t inside your marriage.
Instead, we have Bull and Nate by the lake house again, which was a nice bookend. It served as a reminder this case was a personal one for Bull.
From Bull’s brief exchanges with Benny, we get the sense there was still baggage about Bull’s failed marriage. He said Nate was “just a guy who loved his wife the best he could” and that “Nothing else really matters.”
In a way, Bull was also talking about himself.
Bull’s conversation with Nate about comparing his failed marriage with Nate and Ava felt like the final chapter in the Bull/Isabel storyline. And with that, the episode managed to tie up both the case and Bull’s arc.
All the elements that made Bull a unique and fun show melded this week. The case was not as simple as we saw in the past. The personal angle didn’t interfere with the situation. If I weren’t sure it would’ve made me look ridiculous (and scary), I would have screamed “Finally” at the screen.
Bull played a tricky juggling act of character-driven and plot-driven. And it worked. The show kept the pace quick yet managed to bring in so much about the case and Bull as well.
I only wished they could have squeezed in some more scenes with the team besides the nice takeout pow-wow scene. But I understand there’s only so much time. Bull tossed in cute throwaway lines in the past that built up what we knew about the cast. It would be nice if they continue that again.
There may have been a lack of team scenes, but there also weren’t any wasted scenes in this episode. Everything connected. The story flowed in a way I wished it had for a few past episodes.
This episode struck the winning balance of case versus character. There need to be more team moments to bring it back to the cast chemistry it enjoyed in the first season. But it’s starting to look possible.
This episode proved it could pull off that golden ratio to give us all the good things. We got a compelling case with riveting courtroom and engaging cast. “Leave it all Behind” showed us it is possible. Just look at this episode.
Seeing is believing. Both for the case and Bull.
Stay connected with So Many Shows:
More From So Many Shows:
Podcast: Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Leave a Reply